Category: History
It might be hard to believe that the now lush White Mountain National Forest was, just a century ago, barren and heavily logged. By the 1850s, about 70% of the land south of the White Mountains had been cleared of trees, due to the arrival of European settlers who used the area for agriculture […]
The Presidential Range in the White Mountains of New Hampshire is one of the most iconic mountain ranges in the United States. It comprises thirteen mountains, nine of which are over 4,000 feet in elevation, and seven of which are named after U.S. Presidents. One of the most challenging hikes in the White Mountains […]
For centuries, public lands have served as the backdrop for important moments in civil rights history. Several civil rights leaders have marched on the streets of our nation’s largest cities, stood their ground in national parks, or sought refuge and inspiration in nature, all in the name of justice and equal opportunity for disenfranchised groups. […]
For centuries, hikers traveling in the Nancy Brook Scenic Area of the White Mountain National Forest have reported hearing cries and shrieks of laughter. These strange noises are thought to belong to a young woman named Nancy Barton, who had been hiking through Crawford Notch in the winter of 1778, when she succumbed to frostbite […]
Each year, half a million people visit Henry David Thoreau’s cabin at Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts. Thoreau, one of the most prolific authors of his time and a leading transcendentalist, escaped to Walden Pond to live a simpler life. In “Walden” he writes: I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, […]
Mount Washington was feeling benevolent on the afternoon of August 14, 1945, and 14-year-old Hugh Dunphy was taking advantage of the mountain’s good mood. Dunphy was part of a crew of about 12 campers and counselors from Camp Ropioa in Harrison, Maine, that was hiking toward Washington’s summit under clear skies and mild temperatures—and […]
In September of 1961, Betty and Barney Hill were driving from Montreal, Canada to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on the way home from their belated honeymoon. While driving through the White Mountains of New Hampshire, the couple experienced an extraterrestrial phenomenon that would launch them into the international spotlight and help shape the dialogue around future […]
In 1825, Samuel Willey Jr. and his family moved into a house nestled in the heart of Crawford Notch. The events that transpired there unknowingly turned the White Mountains into one of the biggest tourist attractions on the East Coast. Born in 1788, Samuel Willey Jr. was a New Hampshire local. He and his […]
The lure of the Presidential Range caused many trail builders to look for new ways to access peaks, and 2020 marks the 100th year of two of these routes. The first, Lion Head Trail, was cut following the U.S. Forest Service’s acquisition of the land in early 1920. The trail begins and ends on the […]
Peakbagging is the concept in which hikers and climbers attempt to reach a specific set of summits as defined by a list or a set of criteria. Some peakbaggers, known as “highpointers,” try to reach the highest point in every state, country, continent, or national park, while other peakbaggers attempt to climb all summits over […]
In The White Mountains: A Handbook for Travelers, a guidebook from the 1890’s, Tuckerman Ravine is described as “the most remarkable piece of scenery of this character in all of New England.” Today, Tuckerman Ravine remains one of the most famous destinations in the White Mountains, attracting tens of thousands of hikers and skiers each […]
In this story from Appalachia‘s June 1974 issue, Fred Stott provides occasional editorial commentary. Joe Dodge didn’t consider himself a writer. But his style was direct and economical. In Appalachia, Joe recounted his trip to Pinkham Notch to accept the job which made so much difference in the rest of his life. “It was a […]
John Vials, also known as English Jack or the “Hermit of Crawford Notch”, was one of the most notable 19th century figures in the White Mountains. After a tumultuous life at sea and a vagabond lifestyle, Jack found his home at Crawford Notch in the 1870s and stayed until his death in 1912. Though it’s […]
Katahdin is one of the most notable landmarks in the Northeast. As the centerpiece of Baxter State Park, the tallest mountain in Maine (reaching 5,269 feet in elevation), and the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail (A.T.), Katahdin attracts thousands of eager hikers each year. However, those who choose to summit Katahdin must use caution: […]
This is an excerpt of a story that was originally published in the Winter/Spring 2016 issue of Appalachia Journal. This is a love story. Its background contains a wife and husband; its foreground features a woman and mountains across the world. Even as Shakespeare and life remind us that love stories do not always end […]
The origins and early development of mountaineering in North America in the late nineteenth to early twentieth centuries has been called the golden age. The Canadian peaks did beckon, and the eager and curious heard the call and could not resist. The high noon of Alpinism in Europe had passed with Edward Whymper’s first, yet […]
The Alpine Club of Williamstown Professor Albert Hopkins of Williams College did not climb with the same spring in his step that he once had. But at the age of 57, he could still hold his own on the trail as he led seventeen young men and women up Mount Greylock, which loomed above them […]